6
I never would have guessed Pedro had such a thick skin.
That evening, after the last guest had left, I finally returned to my villa. I was about to ask Mrs. Gable for bowl of soup to clear my head when I realized someone had already beaten me to it.
Pedro and Lily were sitting on my custom Italian leather sofa. He was holding the baby, carefully blowing or a spoonful of chicken broth. She was prodding at a bowl of wild abalone, a picky expression on her face.
Lily’s eyes welled up with tears. “Mrs. Gable, this abalone is so small. Did Stella say something to you? Ar you not even willing to give me a decent-sized piece anymore?”
At her words, Pedro’s face darkened.
Mrs. Gable rushed to explain. “No, miss, it’s not that. This batch is wild-caught, so they’re naturally smaller They aren’t like the farmed kind.”
But Lily wasn’t appeased. Her eyes turned red. “Right. My family is poor. Of course I wouldn’t know the diffe rence between wild and farmed. Pedro, maybe I shouldn’t be here. It’s not just Stella who looks down on me even her housekeeper does. I guess a person like me only deserves small scraps.”
“Nonsense!”
Seeing Lily on the verge of tears, Pedro exploded. He slammed his own bowl of scalding soup onto the floo in front of Mrs. Gable. “You’re just a servant! How dare you disrespect my guest! Do you want me to have Stella fire you tonight? Now go back to the kitchen and make another pot of soup for Lily. And this time open your damn eyes and use the biggest pieces you have!”
That was the scene I walked in on.
Mrs. Gable, her eyes brimming with tears, was about to turn back to the kitchen.
I stopped her. “You don’t have to make them anything.”
When Pedro saw me, a flicker of mockery crossed his eyes. He tilted his head back arrogantly. “Don’t think my being here means I’ve forgiven you. I just decided this was a more comfortable place for Lily to recover She just gave birth; she needs to be taken care of properly.”
“As for you hanging up on me today and refusing to pick me up… you will get on your knees and apologize. Then you will sign this villa and the new energy project over to my sister. Only then will we be even. Otherwi- se, don’t even think about me speaking to you again.”
I was so stunned by his audacity and his colossal ego that I almost laughed. I looked at the imperious Pedro and the smugly observant Lily. “Do you not own a mirror? Or have you just never looked down when you piss? What on earth makes you so confident?”
“Your sister already asked for the project and the villa. Didn’t she also tell you that I publicly ended things with you? How can you be so delusional? Do you really think I, Stella Sterling, would pass up every decen man in the world for a creature like you, who can’t control his own zipper and casually makes babies with other women? Do you think I’m as stupid as you are?”
Pedro was so enraged he could barely breathe. He pointed a trembling finger at my nose. “Stella Sterling you’ve got real nerve. I dare you to say that again.”
Fine by me. The System was gone. What did I have to be afraid of?
Just as I was about to repeat myself, Lily burst into dramatic sobs. “Stella, I know you’ve misunderstood m and Pedro again. We’re really just friends! Please, don’t torture him because of me anymore. If you reall care about me and my son, we’ll leave right now. It’ll be hard for a child to grow up without a father, but fo Pedro’s happiness, we’re willing to make that sacrifice.”
Tears streamed down her face as if from a faucet.
Pedro’s gaze snapped to me, his eyes burning with pure, unadulterated hatred. “Don’t you dare!” he roared. Stella, I’m telling you, if you dare to kick Lily and my son out, then we are really through!”
He shouted the word “through” as if it were his ultimate weapon, absolutely certain I would cave to keep him, just like every other time. Whenever he uttered that threat, no matter how unreasonable his demand, would always surrender.
This time, I looked at him like he was a pathetic clown. “Weren’t we already through? As of earlier today’ Which means you no longer belong here. Please take your son and your little mistress and get out of my
house.”
Pedro stared at me, his voice a low hiss. “You will regret this.”
“I will make you regret this.”
I settled back onto the sofa and casually examined my nails. “The only one with regrets won’t be me.”
After they left, I immediately changed the security codes on the villa and deleted Pedro’s fingerprints from the system. Then I called security and the front gate.
Pedro Lynn was no longer allowed on the property.
Once it was all done, Mrs. Gable brought me a steaming bowl of abalone soup. The pieces inside were twice the size of the ones in Lily’s bowl.
“Isn’t this one wild-caught?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Mrs. Gable grinned. “Of course it is, Miss. I just couldn’t stand those two vermin, so I deliberately gave them the small ones.” She then looked at me cautiously. “Miss, are you really, truly done with Mr. Lynn this time?”
I nodded. “Absolutely.”
Mrs. Gable pulled out her phone, laughing and crying at the same time. “Oh, thank goodness! Our young miss
is finally herself again! That greedy, two-faced scumbag never deserved you. I have to call your parents and tell them the good news right now!”
Watching her hurry off to spread the word, I rested my head in my hands. How much had I lost my mind over Pedro? How much had I worried the people who loved me?
But that was all in the past. It would never happen again.
